Primary Sources

UN Security Council on the Civil War in Yugoslavia

Description

In 1990, the Yugoslav Communist Party divided into several separate parties, one for each of the six Yugoslav Republics. Tensions among the ethnic groups of Yugoslavia, divided among the republics, led to an outbreak of a civil war in 1991. In order to prevent a general escalation of the violence throughout the Balkan region, the United Nations Security Council committed its resources to limiting the violence both within the country and outside of it. This letter was part of the Security Council's firm commitment to remaining in Yugoslavia until all of the military forces inside the country agreed to the ceasefire, which the UN proposed months earlier.

Source

U.N. Security Council Secretary-General to U.N. Security Council President, 24 December 1991, Cold War International History Project, Virtual Archive, CWIHP (accessed May 14, 2008).

Primary Source—Excerpt

The Security Council,

...

Deeply concerned by the fighting in Yugoslavia and by the serious violations of earlier cease-fire agreements, which have caused heavy loss of human life and widespread material damage, and by the consequences for the countries of the region,

...

1. Approves the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, and expresses the hope that they will pursue their contacts with the Yugoslav parties as rapidly as possible so that the Secretary-General can present early recommendations to the Security Council including for the possible establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Yugoslavia;

2. Endorses the statement made by the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General to the parties that the deployment of a United Nations peace-keeping operation cannot be envisaged without, inter alia, full compliance by all parties with the agreement signed in Geneva on 23 November 1991....

3. Strongly urges the Yugoslav parties to comply fully with that agreement;

4. Undertakes to examine the recommendations of the Secretary-General mentioned above and take appropriate action without delay upon them, including in particular any recommendation for the possible establishment of a United Nations peace-keeping operation in Yugoslavia;

5. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter until a peaceful solution is achieved.

How to Cite this Source

Security Council, "UN Security Council on the Civil War in Yugoslavia," Making the History of 1989, Item #127, http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/127 (accessed May 25 2019, 8:55 am).